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H&M's Next Big Designer Collaboration Rumored to Be With Margiela

Margiela designs

Margiela

June 12, 2012

by

Merle Ginsberg

H&M news is big fashion news these days. The Swedish retail giant has made designer clothing affordable to everyone all over the world, and that's no small thing. It means that people at most economic levels have an awareness of all kinds of fashion designers now.

The Internet is burning up the wires and widgets with rumours that H&M's next designer mashup will be with Maison Margiela. Now, some might say that collaboration would be with Belgian designer Martin Margiela himself, known for avant-garde clothes, cloven-hoof shoes, oversized suit jackets, boyish looks for girls and long waif '90s-style dresses.

But, in fact -- everyone in the fashion world knows that Monsieur Margiela is no longer actually with the brand. The famously photo-shy designer, who once designed for Hermes quite successfully, left the brand years ago. And in his 20-year reign at the top of the fashion world, barely anyone ever knew what he looked like but his staff. He managed to almost never have a photo taken -- and if it was taken, it somehow mysteriously escaped publication.

Margiela's exit was somewhere around the time the Belgian brand was sold to Diesel's entrepreneur Renzo Rosso. But there is still a very signature Margiela silhouette and look -- for both women and men -- and the off-kilter look is still very popular in Europe, Japan and the U.S. And of course, H&M had big success with two other avant-garde brands: Commes des Garcons and Viktor & Rolf.